A crocodile could easily devour a stork in a single snap of its jaws. Instead, these waterhole crocodiles form an unexpected alliance with the birds. Working together, they create a floating dam, trapping helpless catfish in their collaboration.
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TRANSCRIPT
The rising heat triggers algal blooms in the shallow water.
(water splashing) Deprived of oxygen, catfish are forced to the surface, right into the jaws of death.
(animals grunting) Herons are precision hunters.
(water splashing) Pelicans have a more smash and grab approach, (wings flapping) netting several fish at once in their expanding throat patches.
(upbeat music) (water splashing) The commotion is guaranteed to annoy the territorial alpha male.
(wings flapping) In the melee, catfish are driven towards the storks and herons, all mutually helping each other to feed.
But the crocodiles are surprisingly relaxed.
They could swallow a stalk in one snap of the jaws, but it's not in their interest to eat the birds.
(water splashing) Instead, they work with them, forming a floating down -- a deadly trap from which the fish have no escape.
(birds chirping) The crocs benefit too.
A high quality protein catfish feast could sustain them for a whole year.
This extraordinary ability to go long periods without food allows them to withstand times of shortage, which other species might not survive.
(water splashing) By working together, everybody benefits.
(birds chirping) Well, everybody but the catfish.
Even a young fish eagle gets in on the action, swooping in to show everyone how to hunt in style.
Eventually.